You remember that heartfelt NFL game salute to the military? You may have paid for it...

It's a familiar scene to most Americans. The poignant moment when a
soldier is honored for his or her service before a cheering crowd during
halftime of an NFL game.
It turns out, however, that at least some of these patriotic displays are not what they seem.
A New Jersey-based website, NJ.com, has a detailed report
that reveals the Department of Defense is paying millions of dollars to
many NFL teams in what are essentially paid promotions to honor
America's heroes.

When the Jets paused to honor soldiers of the New
Jersey Army National Guard at home games during the past four years, it
was more than a heartfelt salute to the military — it was also worth a
good stack of taxpayer money, records show. The Department of Defense
and the Jersey Guard paid the Jets a total of $377,000 from 2011 to 2014
for the salutes and other advertising, according to federal contracts.
Overall, the Defense Department has paid 14 NFL teams $5.4 million
during that time, of which $5.3 million was paid by the National Guard
to 11 teams under similar contracts.